Brazil samba 2000s ▶ 123K subscribers

Teresa Cristina

Teresa Cristina is a Brazilian samba singer and songwriter from Rio de Janeiro, known for her interpretations of samba composers such as Paulinho da Viola, Cartola and Noel Rosa.

Origins

Born in 1968, she came to samba in her twenties and began singing in Rio bars in the 1990s. From 1998 she led the revival of samba at Bar Semente in Lapa with Grupo Semente, and the 2002 album A Música de Paulinho da Viola brought her to a wide audience.

The sound

Her music is traditional samba with roots in the Madureira and Portela songbook, built on cavaquinho, guitar and percussion. She also writes her own sambas, often with partners such as Argemiro da Portela.

Legacy

She received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Samba Album early in her career and was named artist of the year by the São Paulo Art Critics Association (APCA) in 2020, the year her pandemic livestreams drew a large following. In 2026 she was nominated for Best Samba/Pagode Album with Jessé – As Canções de Zeca Pagodinho.